AFGE Confident in TSA Runoff Election Victory

April 20, 2011

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Federation of Government Employees today received the most votes but not a majority in an election for exclusive union representation at the Transportation Security Administration, and according to Federal Labor Relations Authority election rules will go into a runoff election against the National Treasury Employees Union. The first election results were AFGE 8369, Treasury 8095, and no union 3111.

AFGE National President John Gage today issued the following statement:

“During a time when this country’s federal workers and their unions are under attack, it speaks volumes that Transportation Security Officers nationwide stood strong and voted to have a union. By voting for a voice at work, TSOs have demonstrated that when American workers are given a choice–without intensive intimidation campaigns–they want a union.

“While AFGE is disappointed that we can’t begin negotiating a collective bargaining agreement right away, we are confident that TSOs will once and for all vote for AFGE in a runoff election.

“AFGE thanks the TSOs who have supported us, as we stood by them for the past nine years. Together, with our TSO activists and the backing of the AFL-CIO’s 12 million members, AFGE looks forward to being elected the only union at TSA.”

Runoff election dates have not yet been set. All parties will have to meet to confer and agree on the election terms.

AFGE is the largest federal employee union representing 625,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia, including tens of thousands of DHS employees in Border Patrol, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FEMA, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Federal Protective Service, Office of Immigration Statistics and TSA.